Chomper (a.k.a. "Eager Chomper", as he is called on the official website, and by fans[2]), originally voiced by Rob Paulsen, later Cannon Young and Max Burkholder, and now Isaac Brown, is one of the main characters in the Land Before Time franchise, starring in three films as well as the whole TV series. He is a bluish-purple Tyrannosaurus,[3] which is one of many species of carnivorous dinosaurs called "sharpteeth" in the Land Before Time series. He first appeared in The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, when he was hatched by Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike. Being raised by them for the first day of his life has led him to be friendly with herbivorous dinosaurs, although they do not always trust him. He is bilingual, being able to speak both the herbivore language of the plant-eating dinosaurs (heard as English to the viewer), and the "Sharptooth" language of the carnivorous dinosaurs, which seems to consist of grunts, roars, and growls, which makes him quite useful in solving disputes between the herbivores and carnivores. He is the only Sharptooth who is friendly to the gang.

Contents

Character

History

Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike originally found Chomper as an egg in The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, when they were trying to rescue an egg from Ducky's nest, which had been stolen by the Egg Stealers, Ozzy and Strut. They mistook the egg to be the egg from the nest, as it was approximately the same (save for the size; Chomper's was larger), being blue with orange speckles. When they brought the egg from the Mysterious Beyond back to the nest, however, they found that Ducky's unhatched sibling had rolled back to the nest, although they mistook it to be a coincidence that they had seen Ozzy and Strut leaving Ducky's nest with the egg, and that the one they had brought back was the one they had really stolen. They decided to take care of the baby as surrogate parents when it hatched, until they found out he was a Sharptooth when he did.

Littlefoot was the first to realize that as a baby he was not yet dangerous, and could perhaps be steered away from the natural dietary habits of theropods. Though Littlefoot's attempts to raise Chomper on a diet of plants failed, Chomper nonetheless found a diet of insects to be agreeable fare. When Littlefoot introduced Chomper to the others, they accepted him at first, even singing a song for him (You're One of Us Now). Cera, however, became bitter towards him after he bit her tail by instinct. Chomper then ran away, to one of the volcanoes (called Smoking Mountains by the characters) on the edge of the Great Valley. There, he chased more insects until Ozzy and Strut attacked the others again, for revenge. He then came to their rescue, as he had inadvertently done before (his shadow had fooled the egg-nappers into thinking he was an adult). Later, when the gang found out that a landslide the night before had opened up a new path between the Beyond and the Valley, enabling Sharpteeth to enter, Littlefoot tried to lead Chomper to safety, but encountered the two Sharpteeth which had come into the Valley. Chomper immediately clicked onto who these particular Sharpteeth were, and vice versa. He and his parents then began to leave, until he heard Littlefoot calling for help as Ozzy and Strut tried to throw him off a cliff, whereupon his grateful parents chased them off, and Chomper and Littlefoot said their final goodbyes.

Chomper made his second appearance in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, in which the gang found out that he and his family lived on the island they had found themselves trapped on. During the time he was apart with Littlefoot and the others, Chomper somehow learnt to talk and became the only Sharptooth in the universe who can talk and communicate with herbivores like Littlefoot and the others. Chomper was convinced his parents would be friendly to them, even though the carnivorous food source on the island was limited. However, when he found out, upon asking his parents if he could invite some of his friends over for dinner, that they viewed any guests as dessert, he offered to help the gang hide away from them. He then led them to a batch of foul-smelling roses he referred to as "The Stinky Place", and professed that the smell of the flowers would block their own scent from reaching his parents. He then went off to fetch food for the gang after Spike began to eat the flowers.

Throughout that time, Cera maintained a paranoiac distrust of Chomper, and she constantly reminded the others that he could turn on them at any moment. When she thought that Chomper was about to bite Littlefoot, she finally blurted out her fears within Chomper's hearing range. Chomper, who knew all along that she didn't trust his parents, was hurt that she was even suspicious of him, and he walked away. Later, when another Sharptooth who had also been living on the island found the children, Chomper tried to protect them by battling with the Sharptooth himself. Then his parents showed up and took on him, during which he fell into the Big Water and knocked Chomper in with him. Littlefoot then jumped in to save Chomper from drowning, and held him out of the water until the sharptooth was washed away. Shortly after, the shark (called "Swimming Sharptooth" by the characters) began to approach them, however it was revealed to be Elsie, a kind, sea-dwelling Plesiosaur. When she returned them to the island, Mama and Papa Sharptooth promised the children that they would not hurt them after all they had done for their son. Cera then realized that it was possible for them to resist their instincts for their friends' sake, and began to trust Chomper more.

In the TV series, Chomper had come into the Great Valley again, accompanied by a female Oviraptor named Ruby who'd been asked by his parents to look after him after Red Claw separated them from their families. Even though he is a Sharptooth, the residents have apparently accepted the two of them. Other than Daddy Topps, who frequently poked at Chomper's carnivorous appetite and even made up stories like in "The Mysterious Tooth Crisis" to scare him. But most of the adults had no objection to him living in the Valley or playing with their children, in spite of his carnivorous nature. This is perhaps because Chomper is still content to feed off of insects, and doesn't need to eat so much as to be likely to eat his friends.

Chomper and Ruby do not appear in The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends, as the story takes place before the TV series, though it was issued after the series premiered. However, they both make an official appearance in The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave. Many fans of the series hoped that the fourteenth movie that featured Chomper and Ruby would have explained more of the details behind their eventual arrival in the Great Valley, as other glimpses of what happened had been seen in flashbacks in the series, but not enough has yet been given to complete the picture. This was not the case, however.

Personality

Chomper's personality is very outgoing, and he is always willing to go on an adventure with his friends. He tries to please his friends as much as possible, and thus is prone to being taken advantage of. He shows fierce loyalty to his friends, and he often openly exclaims his friendship even to those who intimidate him, like Doc in "The Lone Dinosaur Returns", and Thud in "Escape From The Mysterious Beyond". He is also quite naive, though not quite to the extent of Ducky or Petrie, and he easily believes what he is told. An example is in The Mysterious Tooth Crisis , when he believes what Daddy Topps says about him falling apart to bones. Chomper is also very easygoing and optimistic. He is known to sometimes panic easily, particularly when there is risk of someone seeking to harm him. This is seen in The Lone Dinosaur Returns , in which he tries desperately to stay away from Doc, fearing that he will kill him because he is a Sharptooth. He often feels sensitive about his size, as in "Escape from the Mysterious Beyond" and "The Missing Fast-Water Adventure". Despite all this, he has a very kind heart, and he is most often seen singing the song Feel So Happy in the television series, reflecting his good nature.

Nonetheless, it appears that he does indeed possess a predatory side, though the Land Before Time franchise hasn't done more than hint at it, so far. He is unaware of whether he meant to bite Cera in the second film, as Ducky points out but it's likely that he was just following his instincts. In the fifth film, his whole demeanor while chasing Littlefoot and his friends is unmistakable for hunting and it is clear that he planned to kill them, and perhaps would have done so, had he not recognized them. Indeed, the look in his eyes seems only to change when he recognizes Littlefoot. Another sign that all is not well is that his parents never question his comment that he had Longneck for breakfast, something that they should not have done had he not eaten Leaf Eaters, hinting that he has done so before.

Nonetheless, he never displays such behavior again in the TV series and it is hoped by fans that the danger has passed. However, some may argue that Chomper is a gray character, as he may have killed Leaf Eaters in the past, he is definitely friendly to Leaf Eaters in the present, but his future is unknown, as, unlike practically everyone else in The Land Before Time , he has about an equal chance of swinging to dangerous as remaining harmless as time goes on, as can be seen by the varying views of characters on him. Doc, Ducky, Petrie, Cera, the Old One, Topps, and Mama Iguanodon have expressed doubts in him, but Guido, Littlefoot, Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, Mama Flyer, Tria, and Ruby seem to trust him completely. He himself says that he will always be good in the TV series.

However, it needs to be said that it is not his fault that he's a carnivore and being a carnivore does not make him bad. And it really hurts him when others don't trust him or tell him he's not allowed to be what he is, as seen in his first appearance when he backs away from Littlefoot with a scowl and tears in his eyes.

Chomper appears to like being in high up places. In The Mysterious Island , Chomper leads his friends across a log that connects two cliffs, saying that it is fun. In the TV series episode "Escape From The Mysterious Beyond", when Chomper and Ducky are on a secluded cliff, Ducky says she does not like being high up, to which he responds by saying "I think it's kind of neat."

It was through the character Chomper that it was revealed that the Sharpteeth characters have a dialect of their own. As the language of the herbivores is heard as English or whatever language the DVD is on, to the audience, while the Sharpteeth are only heard roaring, growling and snarling, it was uncertain until the fifth film, in which a caption appears at the bottom of the screen, translating what Chomper and his parents say in their language. He is also shown communicating to other Sharpteeth on a few occasions in the TV series, although only the conversation between Chomper and Thud is captioned. However, in the show, most of the plant-eating characters do not seem to believe that Sharpteeth speak, as in the aforementioned film, Littlefoot watches as Chomper converses with Mama Sharptooth and Papa Sharptooth, and he wonders what they're saying. Cera then tells him that they probably can't talk. In the TV episode "The Brave Longneck Scheme", as the Old One and the rest of Ali's herd crowd around Chomper, he begs them not to hurt him. The herd is shocked to hear him speak, and the Old One exclaims "A talking Sharptooth? I never heard of such a thing!" In "The Lone Dinosaur Returns", Doc credits Littlefoot by saying "Neat trick, teaching him to talk" though Littlefoot and the others claim Chomper learned to speak on his own while Chomper speaks for himself, swearing to never fight his friends.

Indifference

Chomper is the only main character in the television series who is a carnivore, with Ruby being an omnivore, and the rest, the original five, being herbivores. Chomper has an excellent sense of smell, as would be expected for a carnivorous creature. Because of his sensitive nose, which he affectionately calls his "sniffer", he is often called upon for tracking lost friends and finding missing items in the TV series. In the episode "The Lonely Journey", he is shown trying to teach Spike to use his nose for the same reason.

He is the only Sharptooth who has eaten prey on-screen, although the prey are insects, and he is also the only Sharptooth who has directly injured one of the five main characters; when he bit Cera in his first appearance. However, this was most likely based on natural instincts, as he was a baby in the film, and was remorseful when the others were angry at him for doing it. Since being informed by Littlefoot and Ducky that this behavior was not appropriate, and unacceptable in the Great Valley, he has not been seen doing it again.

Chomper often forgets that his friends are leaf eaters, as a running gag in the TV series involves Chomper trying to offer his friends insects to eat. In "Search for the Sky Color Stones", he offers Littlefoot and Petrie a hive of bees (called "stinging buzzers" by the characters), which are his favorite food, and he does not understand why they aren't pleased at this. Also, in "The Canyon of Shiny Stones", when Cera wants to do more than apologize for losing Tria's favorite stone, Chomper suggests bringing her lots of fuzzy crawlers (caterpillars) and buzzing fliers. Like the other Sharpteeth, Chomper feels ill when in the presence of very sweet smelling vegetation, such as the treesweets in the episode "The Hidden Canyon". However, the more time he spends around them in this episode, the more tolerant to their odor he becomes. He has tried eating vegetables and plants on several occasions, but continually finds their taste disgusting. Interestingly, although he also mentions in "The Meadow of Jumping Waters" that he dislikes sweet bubbles (grapes) when Ducky points out a cloud formation resembling him eating one, he appears to be eating the frozen grapes (called "hardwater sweets" by the characters) in the episode "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", and enjoying them. Other characters are often irritated when watching Chomper eat, such as in the episode "The Big Longneck Test". As Shorty witnesses Chomper feeding on some insects, he comments sharply on it, and although Cera tells him "You'll get used to it", he then refuses to let Chomper go along with them on their trek to the great Stone Walkover.

Even though most of the adults are tolerant of Chomper, a few show prejudiced feelings toward him due to his species, with Topps being a notable example. Petrie's siblings are also frightened of Chomper in "The Days of Rising Waters", fearing he would eat them. At the end of the episode, when he saves their mother from suffocation, they made amends with him. Although Cera is extremely mistrusting and bigoted towards Chomper in the fifth film for the same reason, and because he had bitten her tail in the second movie, the two of them seem to have no qualm around each other in the TV series. Cera has also showed concern whenever Chomper is in danger due to the bigotry and assumptions of the adult characters. However, she is quick to warn him away from her whenever he is hungry. She is also not against teasing him about his small arms in "The Missing Fast-Water Adventure", until he successfully reaches the rock blocking the fast water from flowing through a log (his arms were short enough to reach it from a hole in the side), upon which she congratulates him. Thud has been known to call Chomper little, as in "Escape From The Mysterious Beyond".

Chomper is closer to Littlefoot than he is to the other five characters, because Littlefoot was with him the most when he was a baby, and has never faltered in his friendship and trust to Chomper. Their bond is almost brotherly in the TV series, and they share the same belief that anyone of any species, even those with different dietary habits, can be friends with each other. After Littlefoot, Chomper appears to be the closest to Ruby, although this is probably due to her promising his parents that she would look after him. When Chomper is in trouble, both Littlefoot and Ruby appear to be the most concerned and are quick to the risk themselves to save him, this was shown when Littlefoot in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, jumping into the water to save Chomper from drowning, this made him do with Ruby in the episode The Missing Fast-Water Adventure of drowning, their relationship with Chomper is brotherly/sisterly bordering on paternal. This is understandable due to Ruby's promise and Littlefoot being the one who hatched him and raised him for a short while. Chomper even ventured out into the Mysterious Beyond in The Lonely Journey, in order to teach the Sharpteeth to be friendly, although he did not meet with success. In "The Hermit of Black Rock", Guido refers to Chomper as "Chomper the Friendly Sharptooth" (a parody of "Casper the Friendly Ghost").

Character development

Modifications

The character's form has been slightly redesigned over time, similarity to the characters Cera and Spike. In his debut, The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, he was drawn as a mid-shade of blue (gray in the remastered version), with very soft, rounded facial and bodily features. In The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, he was re-drawn with more square of a shape to his mouth, and noticeable chest muscles. This was perhaps to indicate that he had developed more as he got older. Also, it seems that he has three fingers in the fifth movie instead of his original two fingers in the second movie. In the television series, he was modified again. Now, the character is a purple color than he had been in the films, and has larger nostrils and more of a backwards-slant to his eyes; giving his jaw a longer appearance. His teeth are also positioned differently. In The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave, he mostly retains his appearance from the television series.

Chomper with Ducky and Petrie, shortly hatching in The Great Valley Adventure.

Chomper, as he appears in The Mysterious Island.

Chomper with Spike, in the television series (episode "The Lonely Journey").

Reception

Chomper has been received very well by the critics and reviewers of the series. In his review for the second film, Steve Rhodes described Chomper as being a "real scene stealer of a character", and the most imaginative part of animation artist Nelson Shin's work for the film.[4] Jeff Tuckman of the Daily Herald considered Chomper "an adorable toddler T-rex".[5]Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review Database critic Richard Scheib labelled the character as "cute", and thought that the plotline in the fifth film revolving around the drama brought on by his friendship with the main characters in spite of his dietary designs and the risk that his parent's might not look past their differences as the most interesting parts of the film.[6] Michael Scheinfeld, on Disney Family.com, seemed pleased in his review that the character was brought back for that film.[7] In the book Movie Clips for Kids, a book about using clips from videos to teach children about the Bible, the scene in which Littlefoot risks his own life to save Chomper from drowning was likened to the scenario in which the good Samaritan rescues the Jewish man who had been beaten and robbed. Both sequences feature people helping those in need, whether they be from an enemy camp or not.[8]

Chomper's popularity among fans of the show has grown increasingly immense, and he has become the central figure in numerous fanfictions, usually as a good character [9][10][11][12][13][14] , others, as a good character who ultimately has to leave to protect his friends [15][16][17], [18], and some have him as a bad one that is an outright enemy to those he once counted friends. [19][20][21][22]

Cultural Influence

Chomper's logo on the official Land Before Time website. The logo features his real-world nickname, "Eager Chomper".

Chomper has become a favourite among fans of the series, over the course of the film and television series' runs. On the official website of The Land Before Time, the character is given the nickname "Eager Chomper", in reflection of his outgoing personality.

References in media

In 1995, Don Glut wrote the book Chomper, a book in a series of Dinotopia junior novels. It concerns an infant Giganotosaurus named Chomper that was separated from its parents and was raised by a human boy. However, it ends with the boy realizing that he can no longer take care of Chomper and returning him to the wilds of the Rainy Basin where other meat eating dinosaurs live. Whether this is just a coincidence or if Glut intentionally copied The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure—which he has stated that he hates—is unknown.

In the movie Mystery Men, one of the characters runs over a stuffed animal that looks like Chomper.

Gallery

Trivia

It is unknown how he and his parents managed to get off the island he was living on previously, as the land bridge connecting the island to the mainland was destroyed by an earthquake well into the fifth film. A flashback in "The Star Day Celebration" revealed that Chomper and Ruby initially went to the Great Valley together when pursued by Red Claw.

Chomper's favorite food is stinging buzzers (bees).

Despite being friendly, Chomper is the only main character who showed his primal instincts. This was shown when he bit another Sharptooth in the fifth film.

According to the final lines of the fourteenth movie, he will always be friends with the Gang throughout his life.

Chomper is only one of two Sharpteeth in the franchise to interrupt a song (in his case, You're One of Us Now, which was interrupted when he bit Cera in the tail.) (Red Claw, the other one, interrupted Feel So Happy by Ruby.)

Chomper is the only Sharptooth to cry due to sadness (rather than in pain, like Red Claw did when ingesting a Tree Sweet or others do when accidentally biting their own tails) in The Land Before Time.

He is very loyal to his friends, helping them even when there is nothing in it that would benefit him personally, such as his quest to look for Hard Water Sweets despite only being able to tolerate eating meat.

The actions of Chomper chasing bugs and butterflies when he first debuted as a baby are similar to those of Spot in Pixar's The Good Dinosaur (2015) (though The Good Dinosaur came over 20 years after Great Valley Adventure was released.)